Marines Find Signs of Hasty Iraqi Retreat

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, April 1, 2003

Marines rolling into this river town on the road to Baghdad Wednesday found the side of the road littered with abandoned Iraqi military uniforms.

One man tore off his Iraqi army uniform and donned a brown robe. The Marines quickly seized him.

"It looks like a lot of guys threw off their boots and threw off their uniforms and got the hell out," Lt. Michael Belcher said.

It was thought that a company of Iraqi soldiers was defending the town and that another company was defending its bridge over the Tigris River. The 5th Marine Regiment initially encountered some light arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, but resistance quickly evaporated.

Everywhere, there were signs that Iraqi forces had fled in a hurry.

Soldiers found mortar ammunition, abandoned rifles and an artillery piece left behind in a nearby field.

As Marines fanned out, Cobra and Huey helicopters flying overhead, civilians waved, some running away when the Marines drew close. Army teams drove through the town, using a loudspeaker to urge people, in Arabic, to remain indoors.

Here and there were ruined pieces of Iraqi military equipment: Destroyed armored personnel carriers, a smashed artillery piece on a blackened truck with melted tires.

Marines climbed from their armored personnel carriers. Some lay behind dirt mounds, providing cover for others who ran, hunched over, from building to building to make sure the Iraqi forces were really gone.

Beside a small marsh, Marines with bayonets fixed on their M-16 rifles stood over a group of 40 Iraqi men sitting on the ground. Four of the Iraqis, wearing olive green clothes or brown camouflage pants, had their hands bound with white cord.

Smoke rose from a building nearby. The bodies of three dead Iraqi men lay on one side of the road, covered with blankets. Another Iraqi body lay on the other side of the road.

During the day, the 7th Marines relieved the 5th and began search-and-destroy missions to kill Baath Party supporters and some Republican Guard solders they believe may still be in the town.

Belcher said the Marines uncovered "weapons caches throughout the city."

Marines also found Iraqi gas masks still sealed in plastic and a display showing what to do in the event of a chemical or biological attack.